Strand serving apparatus



y 8, 1952 T. T. BUNCH 2,602,281

STRAND-SERVING APPARATUS Filed Sept. 9, 1950 2 SHEET$SHEET 1 INVENTOR 7: T. BUNCH FIG.

AT TORNE V July 8, 1952 T. T. BUNCH 2,602,281

- STRAND-SERVING APPARATUS Filed Sept. 9, 1950 2 SHEETS-SHEET 2 Fla. 2

INVENTOR 7T 7T BUNCH By my ATTORNEY Patented July 8, 1952 UNITED STATES- PA rE Nr OFFICE,

STRAND SERVING APPARATUS Tillman T. Bunch, near Ashland, Md., assignor to Western Electric Company, Incorporated, New York, N. Y., a corporation of New York Application September 9, 1950, Serial No. 184,088

12 Claims.

This invention relates to strand serving apparatus, and more particularly to concentric type positioned on a spindle mounted rotatably on the shaft, and serves them spirally around the advancing conductor.

It has been found that the'supply cop and the cup cannot be balanced so that their axis of rotation is in line with the axis of rotation [of the shaft. An unbalanced cop and cup assembly has a tendency to deviate laterally from the axis of the shaft, and to make an oscillating movement due to eccentric centrifugal forces acting on the cop and cup. In rigidly journalled, undivided shafts these movements are violently prevented, causing jerks to occur in the strand or strands being withdrawn from the cop and rapid wear of the bearings of the "shaft, and imparting excessive vibration to the strand serving machine. To prevent these conditions from occurring, the upper end of the shaft, which supports the cup and the supply cop, must be free to move laterally with respect to the driven portion of the shaft that is rigidly journalled in the serving machine frame so that the rotating cup and supply cop may assume their natural axis of rotation.

An object of the invention is to provide new and improved strandserving apparatus.

Another object 'of the invention is to providenew and improved concentric machines for serving strands around continuously advancing filamentary articles.

A strand serving apparatus embodying certain features of the invention may include a shaft rigidly journalled for rotation about a fixed axis, a second shaft normally aligned in tandem with the'first-mentioned shaft for rotation about said fixed axis, a strand supply mounted rotatably with respect to the second shaft, means secured to the second shaft for withdrawing the strand from the supply and causing rotation thereof, and a resilient member securely bonded to each shaft for coupling the shafts for rotation to-'.

gether and permitting an oscillating movement 25 ball bearing unit I2.

2 of the second shaft with respect to the fixed axis of rotation when the shafts are rotated so that the rotating cop and strand withdrawing means may assume their natural axis of rota- 5 tion.

Other objects and advantages of the invention will appear from the following detailed descriptionof an apparatus embodying certain features of the invention, when read in conjunction with the appended'drawings, in which:

Fig; 1 is a sectional, side elevation of a portion of aistrand serving machine embodying certain features of the-invention, and v Fig. 2 is {an enlarged, fragmentary sectional view of a portion of the apparatus shown in Fig. 1.

Referring now in detail to the drawings, there is shown. the strand serving portion of a high-, speed, concentric type serving machine, which includes a'tubular shaft l0 arranged to be driven by suitablepower means (not shown) at high speed. The shaft I0 is journalled rigidly in the frame of the machine, portions of which are indicated by the numeral H, by a self-contained The portion of the shaft l0 extending upwardly beyond the ball bearing unit I2 is provided with an integral flange l5 having a groove It in the periphery thereof. A groove 11 is provided in the internal bore of a ring 20, and is of the same width and depth as the groove IS in the flange l5. An elastomeric compound is molded in the grooves l6 and I! of theshaft I0 and the ring 20 under sufficient heat and pressure to cure the compound into a, tough, elastic coupling 24. The coupling 24 is molded in the grooves l6 and l! to obtain a strong bond between the coupling and the surfaces of the grooves l6 and I1, and thereby provide a resilient coupling between the shaft to and ,the ring 20. An annular clearance 2| is 40 provided between the periphery of the flange l5 and the internal bore of the ring 20, and the coupling 24 is molded in the grooves so as to secure the ring 20 concentrically with respect to the shaft Ill. The surfaces of the grooves may 5 be brass plated or coated with an adhesive to insure a tight bond between the coupling material and the grooves.

The elastic coupling 24 may be a molded rubber compound, or neoprene compound (polymerized chloroprene), or one of the synthetic rubber-like compounds, such as Buna-S (copolymer of butadiene and styrene). The coupling 24- also may be a molded ring or may be cut from a sheet of vulcanized rubber, neoprene, or other rubber-like compounds, and cemented in the 28 to the flange portion 25 of the hollow shaft- A spindle eilmounted rotatably on the upper portion of the shaft 26 by needle bearings H -3 l is designed to receive a cop 32 containing a supply of strands 33-33.

lower end thereof which fits loosely into a (mum The spindle 3fi'has am y flanged portion 35 formed integrally on the 4 provide a clearance between the under side of the flange l5 and the ring 5| which permits only a predetermined tilting movement of the shaft 26 with respect to the axis of the shaft 10. A similar clearance is also provided between the end of the shaft I8 and the adjacent end of the shaft 26 so that when the lower side of the flange contactsthe ring 5 at one point, a point diametricaily op'posed thereto on the upper side of the flange engages the flange 2530f the shaft; 26. These clearances are designed to prevent unsafe strain on the coupling 25.

terboreBG provided in the flange 0f the shaft 2 26. friction material, is secured to the bottom of the flange and rests on the bottom of, the counterbore 36. lower end thereof secured rigidly to the frame of the serving machine, extends upwardly 45 advanced from a. suitable supply reellongitud-inally through the centralopeningof thepost 40. A bore 46 is provided in a die .41 secured on the end of the'post lil to hold the. core 45 con-' centrically with respect to the guide member43,

and the post 40 keeps thecore from coming in contact with the rotating shafts Ii! and 26.

The core 45 may be. an insulated conductor which is to receivela covering ofQthelstrands 33733, orany typeof filamentary article such as. bare wire, wire. rope, or textile ropelwhich is to receive a covering. of the strands 3.33,3. It is to be. understood thatthe term filamentary article, as used herein. and in the annexedclaims, is

A ring 31, made of cork orothersuitable 1 I A hollow post 40, having-the intended to-include all types of wires, cables, ropes.v

and the like, having an indeterminate length. The use of the term strands is meant. to include. textile. material, synthetic thread-like materials and all types of metallic threads that, may be used. as a covering on the core 45.

The strands. 33-33 of the. supply cop are threaded through a slot 453 in the side of the cup,v

through. hookeyes fill-Elisecured spacedly on the outer surface of the cup and betweent'he pins 44-44 of the strand-guiding member 43, and are attached to the core 45. When the cup 2'! is r0- ta-ted by the shaft 25,-:it withdraws the strands from the cop and serves them spirall around the continuously advancing: core. 45 in the form of av textile covering was the core emerges from thedie. The withdrawal of, the strands. 33-43 from the cop causes the spindle 3ito rotate about the shaft 26 at a high speed. Thering 3 resting on the bottom of the counterbore Shretards the rotation of the spindlev 39 with a braking force proportional to the weight of the cop 32 positioned on the spindle. This braking arrangement on the spindle 30 provides a constantly decreasing braking force as the unwinding diameter of the cop decreases from a full cop to an empty cop, and thereby maintains a substantially uniform tension in the strands 3333, as the serving operation proceeds from a full cop to an empty cop.

A snap ring 5! is positioned in a groove provided in the internal bore of the ring' 28 so as to Occasionally one of the strands 3333 breaks during the s erving operation, and it is necessary .to stop the serving machine immediately to prevent theformatio-n of an imperfect covering 48 on the core 45. This is accomplished by increasing the downward pressure on the flange to increaserthe drag between the ring .31 andthe bottom of the counterbore 36. This increased pressure on the ring. 31 is obtained by applying air under pressure to the topof. the flange 35- Air under. pressure isconveyed from. a supply source (not shown) through the pipe 52 to a groove 53 in the internal bore of a ring 54 secured on the bearing I 2 by a plurality of bolts,- one of which is indicated by the numeral 55. The groove 53in the ring 54 communicates with a groove 56 provided in the periphery of a ring 5'! keyed to the shaft, IE1 for rotation therewith. The air .under pressure passes from the groove 56 througha plurality of openings Ge-50 into an annular clearance 6.! formed between the ring 5'! and the ring 20 secured to theupper shaft 26; A ring 63 made of vulcanized rubber-or other suitable elastic material is positioned in counterbores 65 and 66 provided in the rings 21] and 5'l, respectively,

to form an. air-tight joint between the ring 20 and the ring-- 5'! so that the air entering the an nular clearancefil does not escape into the atmosphere. The ring 63. also permits the upper shaftifi to move out of alignment with respect the underside of the cover-28 and the upper side of the flange 35 of the 'spindle 3G.

The air-under pressure is admitted to the pipe 52 only when it is desirable to stop the rotation of the cop and the cup during the serving operation to prevent the cop from overrunning the cup and breaking additional strands and tangling the strands 3333 whereby a substantial portion of thestrand material is wasted. The serving machine is arranged so that when a strand breaks it actuates means (not shown) which deenergizes the 'means' driving the'shaft l0 and causes a brake (not shown) to stop the rotation of the shafts l5 and 26 immediately. Air is admitted to the annular clearance 6t simultaneously with the application of the brake to stop the shaft l0 and enters the clearance 68 and applies sufficient downward pressure on the flange 35 to cause the ring?! to stop the rotation of the spindle and cop thereby preventing the cop from overrunning thecup and damaging the strands of the cop. The control of the air pressure supplied to the annular clearance 68 to increase the braking forceon the spindle when a estates Operation Let it be assumed that the shaft ID is being driven by a suitable power means such as an electric motor at a predetermined speed and that the core 145 is being advanced through the post 40 at a linear speed bearing the direct relationship to the rotation of the cup 21 by the shaft Ill. The rotation of the cup draws the strands 33-33 from the cop 32 and serves them spirally around the advancing core 45 in the form of the textile covering 48 and causes rotation of the cop.

In high speed concentric serving machines like that described, it is desirable that the supply cop 32 contain a supply of strands 33-33, suificient to maintain the serving machine in operation for predetermined reasonable period of time before it is necessary to stop the machine and position another cop on the spindle 30'. This requirement makes it necessary to use cops having a large diameter and mass to obtain a predetermined linear output of the covered core 45 by the serving machine. 'As a result, the cop 32 and the cup 21 frequently are not balanced so that the axis of rotation of the cop and the cup is not aligned with the fixed axis of rotation of the shaft l0. During the serving operation of the strand on the core 45, the cop and the cup become an oscillating mass rotating at a high speed, and they tend to rotate about their natural axis of rotation as a unit due to'the eccentric centrifugal forces acting on the cop when it is rotated by the withdrawal of the strands 33-33 therefrom by the cup.

The elastic coupling 24 between the shaft 16 and the. shaft 26 together with the clearances between the shafts permits the shaft 26 carrying the cop and cup to oscillate with respect to the fixed axis so that the cop and cup may rotate about their natural axis of rotation, and also permits the shaft 26 to move laterally slightly with respect to the fixed axis of rotation.

The eccentric centrifugal forces acting on the cop and the cup are resolved into many multiple and strongly acting divided impulses which are absorbed by the resilient coupling 24 because the coupling is placed in direct contact with the driving shaft l0 and the driven shaft 26. Since these eccentric centrifugal forces acting on the shaft 26 are absorbed directly by the coupling 24 they are not transmitted to the frame H or other parts of the serving machine. The coupling 24 permits the shaft 26 to move axially without losing parallelism between their respective axes of rotation because the gyroscopic co-efficient of inertia of the upper shaft carrying the cup and the cop and rotating at a very high speed is powerful enough and the elastic coupling 24 be-' tween the two shafts is flexible enough to permit relative displacement between the two shafts -while permitting the shaft 26 to retain its true plane of rotation.

The amount of lateral movement of the shaft 26 is determined by the cross-section of the .coupling 24, therefore the coupling 24 is designed to limit the lateral movement of the shaft within safe operating values at predetermined operating speeds ofthe shaft 26. The lateral displacement and the oscillating movement of the shaft 26 also are restricted by the clearance between the flanges l5 and of the shafts l0 and 26, respectively, and between the flange l5 andthe snap ring 5| so that bending of the post 40 and flexing of the coupling 24 in shear is restricted within safe limits. The coupling 24 is located at a point substantially close to the point on the shaft movements from being referred to the frame of the serving machine andthe bearing 12 in the form of excessive vibration. When the shaft 26 oscillates about its axis of rotation, the resulting movement acts in shear on the coupling 24. The apparatus is designed so that the oscillating movement of the shaft 26 will act in shear'on the elastic coupling 24 because the uniformity of the resilience of the elastic material, such as rubber, due to forces acting in shear thereon is substantiallyv greater than when the elastic material is used under compression or tension.

While the above-described flexible coupling between a driving shaft and a driven shaft in a centrifugal machine is particularly well adapted for centrifugal concentric type serving machines, it is to be understood that it may bereadily modified to suit various types of machines in which the centrifugal loading on a portion, of the shaft is unbalanced and tends to create serious vibrations and jerks in the machine without defparting from the spirit and scope of the invention. v What is claimed is: j

1. Strand serving apparatus, which comprises a shaft rigidly journalled for rotation about a fixed-axis, a second shaft normally aligned for rotation about said fixed axis, a strand supply mounted rotatably with respect to the second shaft, means secured to said second shaft for withdrawing strands from the strand supply and causing rotation thereof, and a resilient member bonded to the shafts for coupling the shafts for rotation together and permitting an oscillating movement of the second shaft with respect to the fixed axis so that the strand supply and the withdrawing means may assume their natural axis of rotation.

2. Strand serving apparatus, which comprises a driving shaft rigidly journalled for rotation about a fixed axis and driven at a predetermined speed, a driven shaft normally aligned in tandem with the driving shaft for rotation about said fixed axis, a supply of strand material rotatably mounted with respect to the driven shaft, means secured'to the driven shaft for withdrawing the strand from the strand supply and causing rotation' thereof, and an elastic ring molded to the shafts to couple them for rotation together and permit an oscillating movement of the driven shaft with respect 'tothe fixed axis so that the strand supply and'the strand withdrawing means may assume their natural axis of rotation, and means for restricting the oscillation of the driven shaft within predetermined limits to prevent excessive'displacement of the driven shaft with respect to the axis of the driving shaft.

3. Strand serving apparatus, which comprises a driving'shaft rigidly journalled for rotation about a fixed axis and driven'at a predetermined speed, a driven shaft aligned for rotation about supply, andmeans for restricting the movement of the driven shaft with respect to the fixed axis within predetermined limits.

4..Strand serving apparatus, which comprises a shaft rigidly journalled for rotation about a fixedaxis and driven at a predetermined speed, a second shaft normally aligned in tandem with the first-mentioned shaft for rotation about said fixed axis, a strand supply cop mounted rotatably with respect to the second shaft, means secured to the second shaft for withdrawing the strand from the supply cop and causing rotation of the supply cop, and an elastic ring molded to the adjacent ends of the shafts so as to couple the shafts for rotation together so that the second shaft may oscillate with respect to the fixed axis of rotationand permit the strand withdrawing means and the strand supply to rotate about their natural axis of rotation, said ring of elastic material being positioned between the shafts so that the movement of the second shaftwith respect to the fixed axis tends to shear the elastic coupling.

5.- Strand serving apparatus, which comprises a shaft rigidly journalled for rotation about a fixed axis and having an annular depression in one end thereof, a second shaft having an annular depression in the end thereof adjacent to the first-mentioned shaft and normally aligned in tandem, therewith for rotation about said fixed axis, a strand supply cop mounted rotatably with respect to the second shaft, means secured to the second shaft for withdrawing the strand from the supply cop and causing rotation of the supply cop, and an elastic ring molded to the adjacent ends of the shafts so that annular portions of the ring are embedded in and adhere to the depressions in the shafts to couple the shafts for rotation together, said elastic coupling allowing the second shaft to oscillate with respect to the fixed axis of rotation so that the strand withdrawing means and the rotating strand supply may rotate about their natural axis of rotation.

6. Strand serving apparatus, which comprises a shaft rigidly journalled for rotation about a fixed axis and having an annular depression in one end thereof, a second shaft normally aligned in tandem with the first-mentioned shaft for rotation about said fixed axis and having an annular depression in the end thereof adjacent to the first-mentioned shaft, a strand supply cop r mounted rotatably with respect to the second shaft, means secured to the second shaft for withdrawing the strand from the supply cop and causing rotation of the supply cop, and an elastic ring molded to the adjacent ends of the shafts so that annular portions of the ring are embedded in and adhere to the depressions in the shafts and thereby couple the shaft-s for rotation together, said elastic coupling allowing the second shaft to oscillate with respect to the fixed axis so that the strand withdrawing means and the rotating strand supply may rotate about their natural axis of rotation, said elastic ring being embedded in the depressions of the shafts so that the oscillating movement of the second shaft tends to shear the elastic coupling transversely to its crosssectional area.

7. Strand serving apparatus, which comprises a shaft rigidly journalled for rotation about a fixed axis and driven at a predetermined speed, a second shaft normally aligned in tandem with the driven shaft for rotation about said fixed axis, a strand supply mounted rotatably with respect to the driven shaft, means secured on the driven shaft for withdrawing the strand from the strand supply when the shaft isrotated and causing rotation of the strand supply, an elastic ring bonded tightly to the adjacent portions of the shafts to couple the shafts for rotation together in such a manner that the second shaft may oscillate with respect to the fixed axis of the driving shaft so that the strand supply and the strand withdrawingmeans carried by the second shaft may rotate about'their natural axis of rota tion.

8. Strand serving apparatus, which comprises a driving shaft rigidly journalled for rotation about a fixed axis and having a groove in one end thereof, a driven shaft normally aligned in tandem with the driving shaft for rotation about said fixed axis and having a groove therein aligned with the groove in the driving shaft, a strand supply mounted rotatably" with respect to the driven shaft for withdrawing the strand from the strand supply and causing rotation of the strand supply, a ring of elastic material molded in the grooves of the shafts for resiliently coupling the shafts for rotation together so that the strand withdrawing means and strand supply carried by the driven shaft may rotate about their natural axis of rotation with respect to eccentric centrifugal forces occurring in the rotating strand withdrawing'means and the ro tating strand supply.

9. Strand serving apparatus, which comprises a driving shaft rigidly journalled for rotation about a fixed axis and having an enlarged flanged portion on one end thereof, a driven shaft normally aligned in'tandem with the driving shaft for rotation about said fixed axis and having a'fianged portion provided with a counterborefor loosely receiving the flange of the driving shaft, means rotatably mounted with respect to the driven shaft for receiving a strand supply cop, means secured to the driven shaft for withdrawing the strand from the cop and causing rotation of the cop, an annular elastic member molded in position between the periphery of the fiange of the driving shaft and the adjacent wall of the counterbore of the driven shaft so as to couple the shafts for rotation together, said elastic member being designed to permit the driven shaft to oscillate with respect to the fixed axis of the driving shaft in accordance with any eccentric centrifugal forces occurring in the strand supply and strand withdrawing means when they are rotated, and means for restricting the oscillation of the driven shaft within predetermined limits with respect to the fixed axis.

10. Strand serving apparatus, which comprises a driving shaft rigidly journalled for rotation about a fixed axis and having an enlarged flange on one end thereof provided with a peripheral groove, a driven shaftnormally aligned in tandem with the driving shaft for rotation about the fixed axis and having an enlarged flanged portion provided with a counterbore for receiving the flange of the driving shaft and a groove in the internal wall of thecounterbore aligned with the groove in the flange of the driving shaft, means rotatably mounted with respect to the driven shaft for receiving a strand supply cop, means secured for rotation with the driven shaft for withdrawing the strand from the supply cop and causing rotation of the cop, and an elastic material molded in the grooves of the driving shaft and-the drivenshaft under sufiicient heat and pressure to bond the surfaces of the grooves and form an elastic coupling between the shafts, said elastic coupling permitting the driven shaft to oscillate with respect to the fixed axis so that the strand withdrawing means of the cop may rotate about their natural axis of rotation and thereby prevent any eccentric centrifugal forces occurring in the strand supply from causing excessive vibration in the driving shaft.

11. Strand serving apparatus, which comprises a driving shaft journalled for rotation about a fixed axis and having an enlarged flanged portion on one end thereof provided with a groove in the periphery thereof, a driven shaft normally aligned in tandem with the driving shaft for rotation about said fixed axis and having an enlarged flanged portion on the end thereof. an annular member secured to the flange of the driven shaft so that it loosely surrounds the strand supply cop may rotate about theirnatural axis of rotation with respect to the fixed axis, and a snap ring fitted in the annular member adjacent to the underside of the flange on the driving shaft, said elastic ring coupling the shafts tg'ether so as to provide predetermined clearance between the adjacent surfaces of the shaft, where. by the clearance between the shafts and the clearthe shaft, and an elastic member molded and bonded to the driving means and to the shaft so that portions thereof are imbedded in the shaft and the driving means to couple them for rotation together, said elastic coupling permitting the shaft to oscillate with respect to the fixed axis so that the strand supply and the strand withdrawing means may rotate about their natural axis of rotation, whereby the strand is served uniformly on the advancing core.

TILLMAN 'I BUNCH.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

. UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 1,073,085 Beutler Sept. 16, 1913 1,881,621 Janic'ki Oct. 11, 1932 2,106,490 Parvin Jan. 25, 1938 

